Profile Atarian: Thomas Rodman

As a wee child, my parents required me to purchase what they called the 2600.Ugh...Disgusting graphics, bink/bong sound, and crap for controllers called "joysticks." The parental torture continued with an Atari 400 home computer, which left me with severe carpal tunnel syndrome due to it's infamous "chicklet" keyboard. Just a joke...but, man, did I spend hours on that crappy little membrane...

However, the first light appeared with the arrival of our Commodore 64.The SID chip produced excellent sound, and the high resolution graphics were great. And it had a real keyboard as well. The C64 found its way to the end of the computer bench with my 800XL taking its place. It was nice to go back to the system I had loved so (the 400) but with actually usable equipment.

In 1984, with the arrival of the Nintendo Entertainment System into my life, things got even better. Ahh, almost arcade quality, good sound, and great controllers. I didn't bite on Atari's claims of the 7800--it was really nothing more than junk that the Tramiels used to bankroll other things.

1987 saw another improvement, with the arrival of my Commodore Amiga 500 computer. Multitasking, graphics, sound...need I say more? When my Atari ST owning friends saw and heard what it could do, they were green with envy. Don't get me wrong, I purchased a 1040ST in 1988, and enjoyed it, but it never compared to my precious Amiga.

Today, I might play my Jaguar, and enjoy it. But I also love my new Nintendo 64, and my PSX. Along the way, I've had the 7800, Sega Master System, a TurboGrafx, a Sega Genesis, and a SNES. I have a special place in my heart for Atari, but I, unlike the zealots in the world, can appreciate all systems, and what they have to offer. May Atari live on...if only in the past.